Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb:125:107045.
doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2022.107045. Epub 2022 Dec 6.

Study protocol for a revised randomized trial: Remotely delivered Tai Chi and wellness for Gulf War illness

Barbara L Niles  1 , Stephanie Grossman  2 , Maria McQuade  2 , Daniel Grossman  2 , Anica Pless Kaiser  2 , Brian Muccio  3 , Ben Warner  4 , Chenchen Wang  5 , DeAnna L Mori  6
Affiliations

Study protocol for a revised randomized trial: Remotely delivered Tai Chi and wellness for Gulf War illness

Barbara L Niles et al. Contemp Clin Trials. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Many of the 700,000 American military personnel deployed to the Persian Gulf region in 1990 and 1991 have since reported health symptoms of unknown etiology. This cluster of symptoms has been labeled Gulf War Illness and include chronic musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, headaches, memory and attention difficulties, gastrointestinal complaints, skin abnormalities, breathing problems, and mood and sleep problems [1,2]. There have been few high-quality intervention trials and no strong evidence to support available treatments [3]. Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese martial art with benefits that include enhancing physical and mental health and improving quality of life for those with chronic conditions.

Proposed methods: In this randomized controlled trial, GW Veterans are randomly assigned to either Tai Chi or a Wellness control condition, with both remotely delivered intervention groups meeting twice a week for 12 weeks. The primary aim is to examine if Tai Chi is associated with greater improvements in GWI symptoms in Veterans with GWI compared to a Wellness intervention. Participants will receive assessments at baseline, 12 weeks (post-intervention), and follow-up assessments 3- and 9-months post-intervention. The primary outcome measure is the Brief Pain Inventory that examines pain intensity and pain interference.

Conclusion: This trial will produce valuable results that can have a meaningful impact on healthcare practices for GWI. If proven as a helpful treatment for individuals with GWI, it would support the implementation of remotely delivered Tai Chi classes that Veterans can access from their own homes.

Keywords: Complementary; Gulf war illness; Integrative; Tai chi; Veteran; Wellness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Planned Participant Flow
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Study Design Adaptations and Procedures for Telehealth Format
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Steele L. Prevalence and patterns of Gulf War illness in Kansas veterans: association of symptoms with characteristics of person, place, and time of military service. American journal of epidemiology. 2000;152(10):992–1002. doi:10.1093/aje/152.10.992 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Iannacchione VG, Dever JA, Bann CM, et al. Validation of a research case definition of Gulf War illness in the 1991 US military population. Neuroepidemiology. 2011;37(2):129–140. - PubMed
    1. The Management of Chronic Multisymptom Illness CMI 2021 (2021).
    1. Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses. Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans: Research Update and Recommendations, 2009–2013, Updated Scientific Findings and Recommendations. Washington, DC: US Department of Veterans Affairs. 2014;
    1. National Academies of Sciences E, Medicine. Gulf War and health: Volume 10: Update of health effects of serving in the Gulf War. 2016;doi:10.17226/21840 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types